Search the Dictionary

The head or presiding officer in the faculty of some colleges or universities.

A gradual sinking and wasting away of the physical faculties; any wasting disease, esp. pulmonary consumption; as, to die of a decline. Dunglison.

ce my rhymes From the dire nation in its early times Pope. Reasoning is nothing but the faculty of deducing unknown truths from principles already known. Locke. See what regard will be paid to the pedigree which deduces your descent from kings and conquerors. Sir W. Scott.

One of an ancient sect of philosophers, who cultivated learned conversation at meals.

Pleasing to the senses; refinedly; hence, adapted to please a nice or cultivated taste; nice; fine; elegant; as, a delicate dish; delicate flavor.

A human being possessed by a demon or evil spirit; one whose faculties are directly controlled by a demon. The demoniac in the gospel was sometimes cast into the fire. Bates.

The department of knowledge relative to the care and culture of the people; sociology in its broadest sense; -- in library cataloguing.

To delay; to pause; to suspend proceedings or judgment in view of a doubt or difficulty; to hesitate; to put off the determination or conclusion of an affair. Upon this rub, the English embassadors thought fit to demur. Hayward.

vior; demeanor; bearing. The gravity of his deportment carried him safe through many difficulties. Swift.

disapprove of strongly. His purpose was deprecated by all round him, and he was with difficulty induced to adandon it. Sir W. Scott.

A tract of land left dry by the sea, and fit for cultivation or use.

To use the faculty of describing; to give a description; as, Milton describes with uncommon force and beauty.

ract, which may be capable of sustaining a population, but has been left unoccupied and uncultivated; a wilderness; a solitary place. He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord. Is. li. 3.

despond. Scott's Letters. Others depress their own minds, [and] despond at the first difficulty. Locke. We wish that . . . desponding patriotism may turn its eyes hitherward, and be assured that foundations of our national power still stand strong. D. Webster.

The faculty supposed to impel to the commission of acts of destruction; propensity to destroy.

prevent by fear; hence, to hinder or prevent from action by fear of consequences, or difficulty, risk, etc. Addison. Potent enemies tempt and deter us from our duty. Tillotson. My own face deters me from my glass. Prior.

A genus of shrubs with pretty white flowers, much cultivated.

or control of the mental powers; quickness and skill in managing any complicated or difficult affair; adroitness. His wisdom . . . was turned . . . into a dexterity to deliver himself. Bacon. He had conducted his own defense with singular boldness and dexterity. Hallam.

c. "Diacritical points." Sir W. Jones. A glance at this typography will reveal great difficulties, which diacritical marks necessarily throw in the way of both printer and writer. A. J. Ellis.

Pertaining to the discursive faculty, its acts or products. I would employ . . . dianoetic to denote the operation of the discursive, elaborative, or comparative faculty. Sir W. Hamilton.